Dangerous High Surf, Rip Current Warnings Ahead Of Summer Nor'easter

BEVERLY, MA — A powerful ocean storm could cause havoc along the North Shore, South Shore and Cape Cod on Wednesday with the National Weather Service issuing a high surf warning with the chance for strong rip currents and possible beach erosion.

While forecasts remained mixed as of Tuesday on how much rain is actually going to fall in extreme-drought-stricken areas of eastern Massachusetts, the National Weather Service is forecasting large breaking waves of 4 to 8 feet in the surf zone for eastern Essex, Suffolk, Eastern Norfolk, Eastern Plymouth, Barnstable and Nantucket counties.

"An anomalous late summer Nor'easter will impact eastern Massachusetts (Tuesday night and) Wednesday, with strong winds and heavy rain for Cape Cod and the Islands," the National Weather Service said late Tuesday afternoon. "Still uncertainty how far west beneficial rains will track."

The alert is in effect from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

The NWS warned of dangerous swimming and surf and localized beach erosion.

"Inexperienced swimmers should remain out of the water due to dangerous surf conditions," the NWS said.

A small craft advisory is also in effect for the entire Massachusetts shoreline.

Bands of rain are expected to form over the ocean as the storm goes east of the coast but may span inland early Wednesday morning and throughout the day. Wind will be highest along with the coast with gusts forecast over 30 miles per hour on the North Shore and topping 40 miles per hour on Cape Cod.

While Wednesday is shaping up as a rare "beach bust" during this hot and mostly dry summer, the good news for those on vacation is that it is only a one-day event. The forecast for Thursday is back to 80 degrees and sunny, with temperatures once again pushing 90 degrees this weekend.

The next hope for some more persistent rain to help the drought conditions after Wednesday is not until Monday or Tuesday of next week.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)